Questions about ram. ISO: Answers asap.

[AlphaOmegaX]

Alrighty guys. I'm new and I have a question I know can be answered simply. I'm new to "decent" computers. I had a p.o.s. for a long time. This computer I have now has 1gb (2x512) of ram @ 667mhz in 2dimms

I have 4 dimm slots

I'm purchasing new ram TONIGHT

2gb (2x1gb) @ 667 or 800 mhz

Heres the technical question. Since I already have a gig of ram can I mix frequencies and run the 667 and 800 without frying anything? Also, Would it be better to run 3gb of ram @ 667 vs 2gb @ 800?

I'm upgrading to 4gb of ram in the future.

Would I notice a significant difference between 4gb of 667mhz and 4gb of 800mhz?

thanks guys and gals.

~Alpha

 

[PurdueRy]

The ram most likely isn't actually running at 667MHz. That is the rated speed of the ram, however, the FSB of the CPU is often slower resulting in the ram running slower than its rated speed. If you overclock your CPU, then this overhead comes in handy.

So, as for your question, there is not problem running the 3GB of ram. However, the 2GB may overclock better if you choose to do that.

 

[AlphaOmegaX]

I'm confused as to what to do. Can I mix frequencies? I mean. I'd love to have 4gb of ram @ 800mhz for overclocking in the future...if and when I get into that. Should I ever need to.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: AlphaOmegaX
I'm confused as to what to do. Can I mix frequencies? I mean. I'd love to have 4gb of ram @ 800mhz for overclocking in the future...if and when I get into that. Should I ever need to.

Yes you can, because, as I said, they will not run at their highest rated frequencies anyway.

If this is a Core 2 Duo Computer then all 3 sticks will likely run at 533MHz

 

[Billb2]

Motherboards will not allow running the memory at different speeds. One of two things will happen.
All the memory will run at the speed of the slowest and the faster memory will be a waste.
or
The motherboard will try and run all the memory at the speed of the fastest.....can you say BSOD, lockup, data corruption, etc?

There are things you can do with FSB, multipliers, dividers and latencies that will give results somewhere in between those extreems, but if you have to ask (about mixing memory, much less about FSB, multipliers, dividers and latencies), you shouldn't be mixing memory in the first place.

 

[AlphaOmegaX]

I guess I should have stated what kind of computer I'm using.

Windows Vista OS
AMD X-2 3800+
Uhh...I dunno what else you need lol 😀

My other question hasn't really been answered either.

I don't know if I should buy 2gigs of ram @ 667 or 2 gigs @ 800

Right now. I need to know. Then from there. What do I do.

 

[bamacre]

Just to make sure, is this a prebuilt system?

 

[AlphaOmegaX]

yes. I purchased it already built. It's a dell. yes, I know hella horrible psu upgrades!

I'm actually looking at some PC5300 right now. 2gigs of it. Seems to be compatible with my system. I think I could be happy with 3 gigs pc5300 @ 667mhz (supposedly)

 

[AlphaOmegaX]

My new question is this. What brand should I look into? I want ram with heatspreaders I believe. Is it really that neccessary?

 

[bamacre]

First off you can't OC with the Dell. So no need to think about 800mhz memory, as any memory you run, will run at 533mhz.

If you want to re-use the ram you have now (which is either Samsung, Nanya, or Infineon likely) with retail stuff, I would highly suggest using Kingston. Corsair or something to the sort MIGHT not be too compatible with what you have now.

Or you can dump what you have now, and feel free to buy pretty much anything else. Corsair Value Select and XMS work fine in dell ddr2 systems, as well as Super Talent, Patriot, and most other brands/models. Check Hot Deals for cheap 2GB kits.

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: AlphaOmegaX
I want ram with heatspreaders I believe. Is it really that neccessary?

Nah.